Exhaust throttle-egr valve module for a diesel engine

ABSTRACT

A valve assembly for use in an air management assembly having an engine, an exhaust side, and an intake side, where the valve assembly provides a housing, a plurality of openings in the housing, a valve in the housing, and an actuator operably connected to the valve. The housing is in fluid communication with the exhaust side and the intake side. The plurality of openings in the housing form at least one inlet and at least one outlet in the housing. The valve moves with respect to the plurality of openings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of non-provisional application Ser.No. 11/527,089 filed Sep. 26, 2006 which was a continuation-in-part ofnon-provisional application Ser. No. 11/475,629, filed Jun. 27, 2006,which was a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No. PCT/US06/04345,filed Feb. 7, 2006, and a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No.PCT/US06/04345, filed Feb. 7, 2006, which both claim the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/696,854, filed Jul. 6, 2005 andProvisional Application No. 60/650,752, filed Feb. 7, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an exhaust gas module that directsgaseous fluid to a plurality of openings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Due to both federal and state regulations, motorized vehicles today arelimited to the amount of emissions in which they can release duringoperation. One way of reducing the amount of emissions released by thevehicle is to include an air management assembly having an exhaust gasrecirculation (EGR) valve. The EGR valve directs at least a portion ofthe gaseous fluid from an exhaust manifold of the engine, so that thegaseous fluid is recirculated into an intake manifold of the enginealong with fresh air. The EGR valve is controlled by an actuator inorder to control the amount of gaseous fluid passing through the EGRvalve and being recirculated into the intake manifold.

Further, an exhaust gas throttle valve is typically placed in the airmanagement assembly which further controls the amount of gaseous fluidthat passes through an EGR path to be recirculated in to the intakemanifold or through an exhaust pipe to exit the air management assembly.Thus, the EGR valve and the exhaust gas throttle both control the amountof gaseous fluid recirculating through the intake side of the airmanagement assembly, but are separate components and are separatelycontrolled.

Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a module which provides ahousing having a plurality of openings with a valve that controls theamount of gaseous fluid passing through the openings so that a valvecontrolled by a single actuator can replace the separate EGR valve andthe exhaust gas throttle valve, and control the amount of gaseous fluidflowing through the EGR path and to the exhaust pipe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a valve assembly foruse in an air management assembly having an engine, an exhaust side, andan intake side, where the valve assembly provides a housing, a pluralityof openings in the housing, a valve in the housing, and an actuatoroperably connected to the valve. The housing is in fluid communicationwith the exhaust side and the intake side. The plurality of openings inthe housing form at least one inlet and at least one outlet in thehousing. The valve moves with respect to the plurality of openings.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a valve assemblyfor use in an air management assembly having an engine, an exhaust side,and an intake side, where the valve assembly provides a housing, anexhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, an air intake, a compressor, aplurality of openings, a valve in the housing, and an actuator operablyconnected to the valve. The housing is in fluid communication with theexhaust side and the intake side. The EGR cooler is in fluidcommunication with the exhaust side. The air intake forms at least aportion of the intake side. The compressor is in fluid communicationbetween the engine and the air intake. The plurality of openings form atleast one inlet and at least one outlet. A first inlet is in fluidcommunication with the EGR cooler. A second inlet is in fluidcommunication with the air intake. An outlet is in fluid communicationwith the compressor. The valve in the housing moves with respect to theplurality of openings.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a valve assemblyfor use in an air management assembly having an engine, an exhaust side,and an intake side, where the valve assembly provides a housing, an EGRcooler, a charge air cooler, a plurality of openings in the housing, avalve in the housing, and an actuator operably connected to the valve.The housing is in fluid communication with the exhaust side and theintake side. The EGR cooler is in fluid communication with the exhaustside. The charge air cooler forms at least a portion of the intake side.The plurality of openings in the housing form at least one inlet and atleast one outlet. A first inlet is in fluid communication with the EGRcooler. A second inlet is in fluid communication with the charge aircooler. The outlet is in fluid communication with the engine. The valvein the housing moves with respect to the plurality of openings.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exhaust throttle-exhaust gasrecirculation module in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a valve and a pluralityof openings of a housing in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional schematic view of the valve andplurality of openings of a housing in accordance with an alternateembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an air management assembly inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and alternateembodiments are shown in phantom where an exhaust throttle-exhaust gasrecirculation module can alternatively be located in the air managementassembly;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an exhaustthrottle-exhaust gas recirculation module having an opening in a housingwith a substantially similar diameter as a filter that is in fluidcommunication with the module in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exhaustthrottle-exhaust gas recirculation module with an alternate featureshown in phantom in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a valve used in an exhaustthrottle-exhaust gas recirculation model in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a method for controlling the flow ofgaseous fluid through a plurality of openings using a single actuatedvalve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, 5, and 6, a valve assembly or an exhaustthrottle-exhaust gas recirculation valve module (ETVM) is generallyshown at 10. The ETVM 10 has a housing 12 with a plurality of openings.The openings form at least one inlet 14 and at least one outlet 16. In apreferred embodiment, the housing 12 has one inlet 14 and two outlets16. A first outlet 16 a is an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) path and asecond outlet 16 b is an exhaust path. The housing 12 also containsvalve 18 which is used to direct the flow of gaseous fluid or exhaustgas inside the housing 12 by being placed in different positions withrespect to the EGR path 16 a and the exhaust path 16 b.

A single actuator 20 is used to control the valve 18. In a preferredembodiment, the actuator 20 is operably connected to an electric motor22 so that the actuator 20 alters the position of the valve 18 in thedesired position with respect to the EGR path 16 a and the exhaust path16 b. The use of a single actuator 20 to control a single valve 18 thatdirects the flow of gaseous fluid through both the EGR path 16 a andexhaust path 16 b is beneficial because of the reduction in the numberof parts needed to operate the ETVM 10 when compared to an assemblyusing a separate EGR valve (not shown) and exhaust gas throttle valve(not shown). For example, if the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b hadseparate actuators, there would be an additional actuator and anadditional power source to operate the additional actuator when comparedto the ETVM 10. Thus, by using a single actuator 20, the manufacturingprocess is more efficient because less parts need to be produced andassembled.

In a preferred embodiment, the flow of gaseous fluid through the ETVM 10is primarily controlled by the valve 18 being placed with respect to theEGR path 16 a. Thus, as gaseous fluid flows into the housing 12 throughthe inlet 14, the valve 18 as controlled by the actuator 20, directs thegaseous fluid through either, both, or neither of the EGR path 16 a andthe exhaust path 16 b. When the valve 18 is positioned so that the EGRpath 16 a is completely open, an amount of gaseous fluid passes throughthe EGR path 16 a due to the pressure in the housing 12 and inlet 14created by the gaseous fluid. However, to further increase the flowthrough the EGR path 16 a, the actuator 20 positions the valve 18 tocompletely close the exhaust path 16 b, which increases the backpressure of the gaseous fluid in the housing 12 and inlet 14. Thisincrease in back pressure causes a greater amount of gaseous fluid toflow through the EGR path 16 a. Further, the valve 18 can be placed inany position where the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b are fullyopen, closed, partially open, or any combination thereof, in order toobtain the desired amount of gaseous fluid flowing through the EGR path16 a and the exhaust path 16 b.

In a preferred embodiment, the valve 18 is a disc that is angled withrespect to the EGR path 16 a and the exhaust path 16 b. Thus, the valve18 is operably connected to the actuator 20 and the valve rotates aboutthe longitudinal axis of the housing 12 in order to close and open theEGR path 16 a and the exhaust path 16 b as desired. In reference to FIG.7, a preferred embodiment of the valve 18 has a first orifice 21 a and asecond orifice 21 b. The orifices 21 a, 21 b are shaped so that thevalve 18, in conjunction with a fixed plate 25 in the housing 12, canfully open the inlets 14 and outlets 16, close the inlets 14 and outlets16, partially open the inlets 14 and outlets 16, or any combinationthereof. The first orifice 21 a is larger than the second orifice 21 bso that both the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b can be at leastpartially opened. The second orifice 21 b is designed so that one of theEGR path 16 a is at least partially open, and the exhaust path 16 b isclosed or vice versa. Further, the shape of the orifices 21 a, 21 ballow for an efficient flow of the gaseous fluid by reducing the amountof resistance caused by the valve 18 when compared to other valve 18designs.

In an alternate embodiment, the valve 18 has a semi-circle disc shape sothat the valve 18 is capable of being placed as to close the EGR path 16a and the exhaust path 16 b, fully open the EGR path 16 a and theexhaust path 16 b, partially open the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16b, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the valve 18 has anaerodynamic angle in order to efficiently direct the flow of gaseousfluid to the desired location. Thus, the angle of the valve 18 isdesigned to reduce the amount of resistance applied to the gaseous fluidfrom the valve 18. It should be appreciated that any predetermined valve18 design is capable of being placed with respect to the openings of thehousing 12 in order to allow the gaseous fluid to flow through thehousing 12 as described above.

Referring to FIG. 3, in an alternate embodiment, the valve 18 rotatesabout a cross-sectional axis in order to close the EGR path 16 a andexhaust path 16 b as desired. Similar to the disc embodiment describedabove, the valve 18 can be a flapper, with a plurality of planes 23extending from a point or the cross-sectional axis, so that the valve 18is capable of being placed to close the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path16 b, fully open the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b, partially openthe EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b, or any combination thereof. Inaddition, the valve 18 is designed with an aerodynamic angle in order toreduce the amount of resistance applied to the gaseous fluid by thevalve 18.

In an alternate embodiment, the planes 23 extending from the point orcross-sectioned axis can be angled so that they do not extend directlyradially from the point. The angled shape of the planes 23 is for theaerodynamic angle as stated above and/or to create a more efficientflapper design to open and close the openings in the housing 12 in apredetermined manner.

Referring to FIG. 4, a preferred embodiment of an air managementassembly including the ETVM 10 is generally shown at 24. Alternateembodiments of the air management assembly 24 are shown in phantom. Withreference to FIGS. 1-7, an engine 26 has an exhaust gas manifold 28where the gaseous fluid exits the engine 26. The gaseous fluid passesthrough the exhaust gas manifold 28 to a turbine 30. The gaseous fluidrotates the turbine 30. Thus, the turbine 30 is in fluid communicationwith the exhaust gas manifold 28. In a preferred embodiment, the gaseousfluid then passes through a diesel particulate filter (DPF) 32 and intothe ETVM 10, so that the turbine 30, DPF 32, and ETVM 10 are in fluidcommunication with one another.

In one embodiment, the inlet 14 of the housing 12 of the ETVM 10 a isdirectly connected to the outlet end of the DPF 32 in order to reducethe space occupied by the air management assembly 24. In addition, byhaving the direct connection between the ETVM 10 a and the DPF 32 thereis less leakage of gaseous fluid due to the reduction in connectionpoints, which results in the prevention of a pressure drop of thegaseous fluid, and simplified assembly due to the reduction in parts.

With specific reference to FIG. 5, in a preferred embodiment when theETVM 10 a is directly connected to the DPF 32, the opening of thehousing 12 that is connected to the DPF 32 has substantially the samediameter as the DPF 32. By having the inlet 14 that is substantially thesame diameter as the DPF 32, the gaseous fluid has substantially thesame area to flow through from the DPF 32 to the ETVM 10 a rather thanhaving a reduction in the area in which the gaseous fluid can flowcreating a bottleneck, which results in a reduction of the gaseous fluidflow rate. Therefore, this design for connecting the ETVM 10 a and theDPF 32 allows for an efficient flow of gaseous fluid through the twocomponents.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-7, no matter where the DPF 32 islocated with respect to the ETVM 10, the gaseous fluid that enters theETVM 10 through the inlet 14 is directed to pass through one, both, orneither of the EGR path 16 a and exhaust path 16 b as described above.The exhaust gas that passes through the exhaust path 16 b then flowsthrough an exhaust pipe 34 and is discharged from the engine assembly24. Thus, the gaseous fluid remains on the exhaust side generallyindicated at 35, until it exits the air management assembly 24. Theexhaust side 35 includes at least the exhaust gas manifold 28, theturbine 30, the DPF 32, and the exhaust pipe 34.

The gaseous fluid that is directed through the EGR path 16 a then passesthrough an EGR path 36 in the air management assembly 24, into a gaseousfluid cooler or EGR cooler 38 that is in fluid communication with theETVM 10. After the gaseous fluid has passed through the EGR cooler 38,the gaseous fluid is combined with fresh air through an air intake 40.The mixture of gaseous fluid and fresh air then enters a compressor 42where the pressure of the gaseous fluid mixture is increased. Thus, theEGR cooler 38, air intake 40, and compressor 42 are in fluidcommunication with one another. Typically, the compressor 42 is moveablycoupled to the turbine 30, such that the gaseous fluid that rotates theturbine 30 causes the compressor 42 to rotate.

Once the gaseous fluid mixture has been compressed and exits thecompressor 42, the gaseous fluid mixture passes through a gaseous fluidcooler or a charge air cooler 44 that is in fluid communication with thecompressor 42. The charge air cooler 44 reduces the temperature of thegaseous fluid mixture. Then the gaseous fluid mixture flows into anintake manifold 46 of the engine 26 that is in fluid communication withthe charge air cooler 44. Thus, the gaseous fluid mixes with the freshair on an intake side 48 of the air management assembly 24 whichincludes at least the air intake 40, the compressor 42, the charge aircooler 44, and the intake manifold 46. In an alternate embodiment, theETVM 10 is placed anywhere in the air management assembly 24 where it isbeneficial to have an EGR valve and a control mechanism for altering theflow of gaseous fluid controlled by a single actuator 20.

In reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, in an alternate embodiment, the ETVM 10 bcan be placed on the intake side 48 of the air management assembly 24.In this embodiment, a first inlet 14 a in the housing 12 is in fluidcommunication with the exhaust side 35; thus, the inlet 14 a relates tothe EGR path 16 a described above. In a preferred embodiment, the firstinlet 14 a is in fluid communication with the EGR cooler 38. The EGRcooler 38 is in fluid communication with the exhaust side 35 after thegaseous fluid passes through the turbine 30. A second inlet 14 b in thehousing 12 is in fluid communication with the air intake 40; thus, thesecond inlet 14 b relates to the exhaust path 16 b described above,except in this embodiment it is an intake path. The housing 12 also hasa first outlet 16 a′ that is in fluid communication with the engine 26.In a preferred embodiment, the first outlet 16 a′ is in fluidcommunication with the compressor 42. Thus, the ETVM 10 b forms at leasta portion of the intake side 48. The valve 18 operates in the samemanner as described above, except that the valve 18 is positioned withrespect to the inlets 14 a and 14 b rather than the outlet 16 a′; thus,the valve 18 can be positioned so that the first inlet 14 a and secondinlet 14 b can be fully open, closed, partially open, or any combinationthereof.

In another alternate embodiment, the ETVM 10 c forms at least a portionof the intake side 48, so that the first inlet 14 a is in fluidcommunication with a gaseous fluid cooler or an EGR cooler 50. Similarto above, the first inlet 14 a relates to the EGR path 16 a. However,ETVM 10 c maintains the same design as ETVM 10 b as described above andshown in FIG. 6. The EGR cooler 50 is in fluid communication with theexhaust side 35 prior to the gaseous fluid passing through the turbine30. The second inlet 14 b is in fluid communication with the charge aircooler 44. Similar to above, the second inlet 14 b relates to theexhaust path 16 b. The first outlet 16 a′ is in fluid communication withthe engine 26. As stated above, for the embodiment where the ETVM 10 cis on the intake side 48, the valve 18 functions in the same mannerexcept the valve moves with respect to the inlets 14 a and 14 b.

In reference to FIG. 6, in an alternate embodiment the ETVM 10 has apressure sensor 52 that is connected to at least two of the openings inthe housing 12. This alternate embodiment is described with respect toETVM 10 for example purposes only, and can be included on, but notlimited to, any ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c design. Preferably theopenings the pressure sensor 52 is connected to are on opposite sides ofthe valve 18. The pressure sensor 52 can then determine the pressuredifference between the openings on opposite sides of the valve 18. Thepressure difference can then be used to determine how the actuator 20should alter the position of the valve 18 in order to get the desiredflow of gaseous fluid through the housing 12.

As described above, the valve 18 can be positioned in order to fullyopen the EGR path 16 a and partially or fully close the exhaust path 16b in order to raise the back pressure of the gaseous fluid in thehousing 12. Raising the pressure of the gaseous fluid in the housing 12is beneficial when the engine 26 is being shut off or to raise thetemperature of the gaseous fluid in the air management assembly 24. Asdescribed above, the single actuator 20 is used to control the valve 18in order to position the valve 18 with respect to the EGR path 16 a andthe exhaust path 16 b. Raising the back pressure of the gaseous fluid inthis way is beneficial due to the increase in back pressure acting as anengine shut off. Thus, the increase in gaseous fluid back pressureincreases the engine 26 load which causes the engine 26 to shut off.Further, the raise in temperature of the gaseous fluid is beneficialbecause the increased temperature acts as a catalyst to begin oxidationof the gaseous fluid during low driving cycles.

Referring to FIGS. 1-8, a method for controlling the amount of exhaustgas recirculation in a preferred embodiment of the air managementassembly 24 provides a first step where the actuator 20 receives asignal from a control system at decision box 54. In a preferredembodiment, the control system is an engine control unit (ECU) (notshown), and the ECU is programmed to determine the desired valve 18location and/or the gaseous fluid flow through the ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b,10 c. In an alternate embodiment, the control unit is the actuator 20,which acts similar to the ECU described above in that the actuator 20determines the desired location of the valve 18 and/or the gaseous fluidflow through the ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c and adjusts the valve 18accordingly. In either of the two embodiments described above, the ECUor the actuator 20 typically receives signals from a position sensor(not shown), a pressure sensor 52, a mass air flow sensor, or the like,to determine the current location of the valve 18. It should beappreciated that any type of sensor can be used, so long as theadjustment to the ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c is determined in order toobtain the desired output from the ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c.

After the actuator 20 has received a control signal, the actuator 20alters the position of the valve 18 accordingly at decision box 56.Thus, depending on the amount of gaseous fluid that is to be directlyreleased from the air management assembly 24, the actuator 20 positionsthe valve 18 to direct gaseous fluid through the EGR path 16 a, 14 aopening and the exhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b. Next,at decision box 58, it must be determined if the valve 18 is positionedsuch that the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening is substantially open. If itis determined that the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening is substantiallyopen, then at decision box 60 the actuator 20 controls the valve 18 inorder to further increase the amount of gaseous fluid flowing throughthe EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening by closing the exhaust path 16 b orrelating second opening 14 b. However, if it is determined that the EGRpath 16 a, 14 a opening is not substantially open, then at decision box62 the actuator 20 continues to control the valve 18 in order to controlthe amount of gaseous fluid flowing through the EGR path 16 a, 14 aopening and exhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b. Afterboth decision box 60 and 62, the method for controlling the amount ofexhaust gas recirculation returns to decision box 54 so that theactuator 20 receives a signal in order to further control valve 18.

In a preferred embodiment, it is determined if the EGR path 16 a, 14 aopening is substantially open prior to altering the valve 18 withrespect to the exhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b becauseit is undesirable to increase the back pressure of the gaseous fluid toincrease the flow of gaseous fluid through the EGR path 16 a, 14 aopening if the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening is not substantially open.Thus, if the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening is not substantially open, thevalve 18 is placed to open the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening to increasethe flow of gaseous fluid through the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening ratherthan increasing the back pressure. In a preferred embodiment, the valve18 is placed so that the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening is completely openprior to the valve 18 being placed with respect to the exhaust path 16 bor relating second opening 14 b to alter the flow of gaseous fluidthrough the EGR path 16 a, 14 a opening. However, it is within the scopeof the invention to control the flow of gaseous fluid through theexhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b prior to the valve 18completely opening the EGR path 16 a, 14 a.

In an alternate embodiment for controlling the valve 18 in any of theembodiments of the air management assembly, the actuator 20 moves thevalve 18 with respect to the openings in the housing 12, such that theopening related to the exhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 bis fully open until the opening relating to the EGR path 16 a, 14 a isfully open. Once the opening relating to the EGR path 16 a, 14 a isfully open, the valve 18 immediately begins to be repositioned by theactuator 22 to at least partially close the opening relating to theexhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b.

In another alternate embodiment, the valve 18 moves with respect to theopenings in the housing 12, so that the opening relating to the exhaustpath 16 b or relating second opening 14 b and the opening relating tothe EGR path 16 a, 14 a are both fully open for a predetermined periodof time. After this predetermined period of time has expired, the valve18 begins to be repositioned by the actuator 20 to at least partiallyclose the opening in the housing 12 that relates to the exhaust path 16b or relating second opening 14 b.

In another alternate embodiment, the valve 18 moves with respect to theopenings in the housing 12, so that the valve 18 begins to berepositioned by the actuator 20 to at least partially close the openingin the housing 12 that relates to the exhaust path 16 b or relatingsecond opening 14 b from being in a fully open position when the valve18 is in a predetermined position with respect to the opening thatrelates to the EGR path 16 a, 14 a. Typically, this predetermined valve18 position with respect to the opening that relates to the EGR path 16a, 14 a is a position where the opening that relates to the EGR path 16a, 14 a is not fully opened.

In addition, an alternate embodiment of the air management assembly 24can include a fail safe for the ETVM 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c for situationswhere the actuator 20 malfunctions. When the fail safe is implementedand the actuator 20 malfunctions, the actuator 20 places the valve 18 ina predetermined position. Typically, the predetermined position is wherethe opening in the housing 12 that relates to the EGR path 16 a, 14 a issubstantially or fully open, and the opening in the housing 12 thatrelates to the exhaust path 16 b or relating second opening 14 b ispartially open.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A product comprising: a valve assembly for usewith an assembly for a combustion engine and a housing, said housinghaving a plurality of openings, said openings comprising at least oneinlet and two outlets including a first outlet and a second outlet; thevalve assembly having a first plane portion constructed and arranged toextend from a stem, and having a second plane portion constructed andarranged to extend from said stem; and a single actuator constructed andarranged to move said stem and to concurrently move said first andsecond plane portions, wherein said first plane portion at leastpartially opens and closes said first outlet and said second planeportion at least partially opens and closes said second outlet.